Reaching the end of your playing career? Fed up with winter Tuesday evenings in Scunthorpe? Want just one more little ‘earner’ before retiring? Go to China. The Chinese Super League. Its paved with gold.

This is what’s happening. All our (one-time) talent is upping (walking) sticks and moving to China. With a population of 1.6 billion, just think of tv rights if you could get even 10% of the buggers into football!! And to do so the Chinese are importing as many big names as they can. Well, they have quotas of overseas players but they’re in big demand. Didier Drogba could almost look Chinese anyway. And he’s there. Along with Nicolas Anelka, Freddie Kanoute, Yakubu, Keita and many others.

You watch a game in the CSL and an hour later you want to watch another.

Now they want John Terry. And as no-one else does, that’s a no-brainer. And also Wayne Rooney. Ok, bit early some say to label the Roonster as a has-been but, a few recent goals aside, he is not a shadow of the player he once was. So the 500,000 pounds a week may look like quite a lot of money for Wayne. But he won’t go. Never. He won’t leave his family, the council flat he still keeps in Toxteth, all those granny ‘massage parlours’ in Wallasey, oh, and his wife, Waynetta, and the kids.

But Wayne also wants to overtake Bobby Charlton’s goal-scoring record and become Man United’s all time top scorer. He’d also like to become, like Bobby, Man United’s nicest man ever, but the odds on that one are much longer.

Meanwhile, what a great result at the Emirates yesterday as the Arse failed to beat Hull. A thrilling (zzzzzzzz) nil nil draw. And oh so topically it brings the question of ‘the cup replay’ in the very week everyone’s saying they shouldn’t have them any longer. Play extra time; have penalties; toss a coin; play til someone scores or someone else dies; but no replay.

Even Hull have four matches scheduled in the next 20 days. Arsenal have dozens. League, champions league, loads of matches. What neither team want is a replay. Wenger, never a man to spare his moaning, has always wanted fewer matches, winter breaks, he’s always wanted to wrap his delicate little players up in cotton wool for periods of rest and recovery. And now they have to shoe-horn in a cup replay.

Strange move by Bournemouth yesterday; playing the second team. The Cup is big. Just about. Though maybe not as big as risking relegation. Who knows why such decisions are made?

Spurs play today. We’re gonna win the double. In colour this time.

Happy Sunday

A xxxx